Auction Results: Photographs, November 6, 2015 @Phillips London

Softness in the top end lots was the undoing of an otherwise solid photography outing at Phillips in London. While the overall Buy-In rate came in at a respectable 26% and there were a few positive surprises to spice things up, it was the failure of all three of the highest priced lots and 10 out of 19 in the top tier that ultimately caused the Total Sale Proceeds to fall just below the low end of the pre-sale range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics

Total Lots

119

Pre Sale Low Total Estimate

£1323000

Pre Sale High Total Estimate

£1846000

Total Lots Sold

87

Total Lots Bought In

32

Buy In %

26.89%

Total Sale Proceeds

£1257150

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):

Detailed Breakdown

Low Total Lots

28

Low Sold

21

Low Bought In

7

Low Buy In %

25.00%

Total Low Estimate

£100500

Total Low Sold

£81750

Mid Total Lots

72

Mid Sold

57

Mid Bought In

15

Mid Buy In %

20.83%

Total Mid Estimate

£772500

Total Mid Sold

£680000

Total High Lots

19

High Sold

9

High Bought In

10

High Buy In %

52.63%

Total High Estimate

£973000

Total High Sold

£495400

The top lot by High estimate is lot 67, Alexander Rodchenko, Steps, 1929, estimated at £140000-180000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 36, Ed Ruscha, Gasoline Stations, 1962/1989, estimated at £40000-60000, sold at £106900. (image above, via Phillips)

97.70% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 6 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate): (images above, via Phillips)

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